PC IFF (Improvements For Free)

[Mr_Fusty]

I have owned my current PC for two years now. It was hardly top of the range when I got it, and it is now feeling it's age . I am saving up for a new one, and therefore I don't want to spend any money at all on my current one.

What I am after is suggestions on ways to impove stablity, performance and usability without actully spending any money. I have done the obvious ones, such as removing programs I don't use at all, defraging regulary, making sure that I am operating recent offical patches and general housekeeping. Is there anything else I can do? I'm no noob, but hardly a true nerd either. As a student though, my time is worthless.

All I will say about my PC is that it is (just) about able to run Vista, but I'm sticking with XP.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Mulholland]

Do you have all your disks and drivers? If you want to take a couple hours you could reformat c:. Which would basically take everything off your computer's HD and give you a fresh start.

 

[mdwh]

What's the spec? And in what sense is it showing it's age?

 

[Chairman Meow]

Your computer is two years old and "showing its age"? I'm typing this on a computer that is five years old, and runs anything I put on it without problems...

 

[Mr_Fusty]

Sorry it's been an age to reply, but I've been stuck in the 'old country' where the internet is something what those fancy people on the magic mirror box use....

Well, it's showing it's age mainly in the processor (crap-end Pentium IV), the system memory is a pathetic 512MB, and the SiS sound and graphics cards just don't like to be compatitble with many games. The only redeeming feature in it is the large hard drive - some 100GB (odd considering the rest of the specs, yes?) In short - a cheap little thing which is ideal for a secretary in an office, but not much else.

I am running XP Professional, and are using SP2. As I said earlier, I try my best to keep myself in patches and updates, although not the auto-update (I do not trust a computer to connect to the internet without my permission. I have even made a physical switch in the wire so I am sure of it)

I have stripped out a fair amount of the original programs that were usless (mainly the distributor's own programs which achieve nothing except taking up precious resorces) but am wary in taking on the OS itself, due to earlier falures.

I have thought of doing a clean install of XP, but face the serious problem in the fact I don't have the CD to do so. That and the fact that I have finally got the start menu just how I like it...

I know that the most obvious route to take would be new sound & graphics cards, upgrade the RAM, think about getting a better processor and for you Linux converts, to abandon Bill's crushing grip (I have thought about it. I operate too many Windows-based programs that don't have Linux support), but I suspect that it won't extend the lifespan much further, as the motherboard will have been built around this system, and therefore will be a bottleneck. Therefore I have judged it uneconomical in both my time & limited money. To be realistic, I need this to hold on for around 12-18 months so when I make the jump to Vista, I can do it in style.

 

[Strider]

Short of what you've done (defragging, etc.) the next best thing is just reformatting. Your primary problem right now will likely major registry fragmentation (which is NOT fixed by a normal defrag). It's also likely that you have a ton of registry keys that are no longer needed.

Short of blowing $30 for software that does it (and can cause some wacky problems with your computer). The next best thing is of course just reformatting and reinstalling. So you've done about everything you can do.

Also you can usually find linux alternatives to most windows based software out there. You just have to search around.

 

[Genocidicbunny]

Free computer improvements are rare and hard to come upon. Defragging and reformatting are always your best options, but besides that there isnt much that can really help you. I've found most optimization programs to be nearly useless...

If you really need an upgrade and have the money, spend it to future proof your system. Or otherwise relegate yourself to less demanding programs/games

 

[Mr_Fusty]

Sorry again, I had to travel back to the '60s again over Christmas. As I suspected, there is not a hell of a lot that I can do with her without major work. I was just wondering if there was any processes that my PC runs as standard that are actully usless. (My last discovery was a manufactuer-made program to 'improve stability' which consumed 25% of all system recorces at all times, and causing most of the problems...) I've just got a couple of programs to remove the registry keys, but i'll make sure that I create a backup before I do so.

Thanks.

 

[illram]

Try running CCleaner. It's free and might get rid of some of the extra stuff you have on there you don't know about. It also does a decent job getting rid of unnecessary registry entries. Not so sure it will really make a big difference for you, but it's a good program.

 

[Zelig]

Short of what you've done (defragging, etc.) the next best thing is just reformatting. Your primary problem right now will likely major registry fragmentation (which is NOT fixed by a normal defrag). It's also likely that you have a ton of registry keys that are no longer needed.

The registry has very little impact on overall system performance however.

To the OP: Sounds like you've done the main stuff, there isn't much else that can be done to speed stuff up.

If you've got the Windows XP key, you can use any CD to install, just borrow one from a friend.

 

[Mr_Fusty]

Didn't know that gem about XP discs. I'll try begging one from a friend.